22 Outstanding Aerial Winning Photos From The 2025 Minimalist Photography Awards

In 2025, the Minimalist Photography Awards once again proved that the sky is not the limit—it’s the canvas. The aerial category this year showcased 22 exceptionally composed photos that transform landscapes into geometry and patterns into poetry. These images leverage minimalism to highlight texture, contrast, and the often-overlooked beauty of natural and manmade forms viewed from above.

Top winners & standouts

“Laços” by Nicolas Ferri took 1st place in the Aerial category. It’s a breathtaking image marked by elegant lines and contrasting tones—simple, yet powerful in how it frames the land’s rhythms.
“Third Eye” by Marcin Giba, the 2nd place aerial winner, mesmerizes with its sight from a frozen lake in Poland. The natural shapes, shadows, and stillness are expertly captured, reminding us that even desolation can be serene.
“Suðurland” by Sebastian Wohlfeil, placing third in the aerial category, draws attention with braided river landscapes in southern Iceland. The hues and sediment patterns show how dynamic and abstract terrain becomes when seen from high above.

Why these photos stand out

These aerial images do more than offer pretty views—they redefine perspective. Pattern and negative space are their tools: rivers snaking through earth, frozen surfaces cracked into abstract mosaics, pools and water bodies forming shapes that echo modern art. They capture transitions—of color, light, terrain—and force the viewer to see landscapes not as background, but as intricate subjects.

Impact & takeaway

In a time when images flood our screens, these 22 aerial winners remind us power lies in restraint. Minimalism in aerial photography strips away excess, leaving behind form, line, and mood. The result is both meditative and striking. For photographers—or anyone who looks at photos—these works encourage you to pause, re-see what you think you know of land and sky, and appreciate the beauty unveiled when distance and simplicity meet.

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#1. 1st Place Winner: "Laços" by Nicolas Ferri

"Photograph taken in Lençóis Maranhenses, near Rogerio and Estrela, his mare. On the edge of one of the thousands of freshwater lagoons that encompass the park."

#2. 2nd Place Winner: "Third eye" by Marcin Giba

"This photo was taken from a bird’s eye view and shows a view of a frozen lake in my hometown of Rybnik in Poland. I have been photographing this motif for several years now. I always wait with fascination for this moment when nature creates one-off forms and I am always surprised by it."

#3. 3rd Place Winner: "Suðurland" by Sebastian Wohlfeil

"Suðurland is a photographic homage to the abstract beauty of our planet. The series of drone photographs reveals fascinating patterns, colors and structures of the river landscapes in the south of Iceland that are usually hidden from our eyes on land. Natural river courses create abstract patterns and show a unique variety of colors due to enriched sediments. To capture the ever-changing appearance of the braided rivers, I traveled to Iceland multiple times in 2023 and 2024. Suðurland invites you to view nature as a work of art and to rediscover the hidden aesthetics of this unique landscape."